American Transfers: The Black and Snape Girls
by Azyrin
Summary: When Sirius Black's daughter joins Hogwarts in Harry's Third year, guilt by association is bad enough, but with Professor Snape's child as her best friend, it can't seem to get worse for her until a boy is thrown into the mix.
1. Missing from the First

The Great Hall was bursting with noise, conversation and the odd little pre-party celebration of being back for the year. Students were finding their seats at four tables that sat parallel to each other. They chattered before the sorting and a few students here and there were looking up at a fifth table, this one a single-sided table facing all the rest. It sat on a raised platform about a foot and a half off the ground. A few seats were empty, for the wizened Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was pacing and watching the students, waving to a few and muttering jovial welcome's-back's, as he waited for them to all get settled. The others missing were the strict Minerva McGonagall and the gigantic Rubeus Hagrid. In their seats at the staff table were the rest of the teachers, waiting for the year to begin.

When the students were all finally in their seats, pointy-hatted the lot of them, Dumbledore silently bid them quiet, welcomed them to a new year, and walked to his seat. Soon enough, though not for the exceptionally hungry, Minerva walked in with the newest students, heading toward a small stool with a worn and torn wizard hat on it.

As interested in the hat's song as he usually was, today something else distracted Dumbledore completely. Two American transfer students were supposed to be in the frightened, nervous crowd of first years, and they would have stuck out like a sore thumb, being third years. When McGonagall reached hearing of him, he beckoned her over and whispered his concern. Being new to this side of the sea alone, along with being Americans, they could get confused very easily. She nodded and walked out of the Hall to go find them.

Supposing they would be outside still, she exited the castle. Looking around to find where she should look first, down by the gate or somewhere else, she spotted two silhouettes sitting on a large rock by the lakeside. Eyebrows furrowing, she briskly strode over and prepared to give a chastisement.

What she saw shocked her a little, being almost the opposite of what she has expected. She'd seen American girls in Britain before, and they had all been the same. Her expectations were set on those impressions, of either the bright color-clothed girls with the snotty expressions and annoying speech or of the dark-garbed girls with several piercings and quiet voices that seemed like they were trying to be sinister or intimidating.

These two girls had on older Hogwarts robes, and they were male robes. Whose they were, McGonagall didn't know, and wasn't sure she wanted to.

"Girls, why aren't you in the castle? Do you realize dementors patrol the grounds?"

They both turned suddenly, something falling out of their ears. The slightly taller one with long black hair in her face spoke up first. "Uh, sorry, Mrs…"

"Professor McGonagall."

"We're terribly sorry. We didn't know what to do, and when we tried to follow a group, we got lost. Then we came here. The castle doors were shut, so we figured we wouldn't be able to get in." responded the other one.

"May I know your names?" McGonagall asked sternly.

"I'm Vanessa Snape, and she's Victoria Black." answered the one who spoke first.

McGonagall blinked for a few seconds, and then briskly turned around. "Follow me, girls. We have to hurry back and get you two sorted."

When they entered the Great hall, Dumbledore was waiting by the sorting hat and all the students, new and old, turned to watch the three of them walk down between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. Motioning Victoria forward first, McGonagall noticed the child's hair. Assuming at first it was all black, she now saw it was actually mainly blonde with a gigantic black stripe through one side.

The girl walked toward the Headmaster with a smile, noticed a few pointed snickers at her and the smile faltered a little. She focused on the Headmaster and waited.

"Well, sit down." he said encouragingly. She slowly turned and sat, soon feeling the musty weight of the weird hat thing on her head. A small voice sounded in her head.

"Well, well. Another one of you. You people are like the Weasleys. Slytherin has always-"

"No, wait." She responded in her head. "I don't want to be in Slytherin. Find someplace else, please."

"Why not Slytherin? You're daring, but reckless, and also very quick. But somehow Gryffindor doesn't seem to suit you much-"

She interrupted again, looking up at the lion banner. "Why not. I like lions. But then, I also like snakes and ravens. But cats are more interesting. Ever seen the Lion King? Perhaps not, you're a hat…"

"Well, you've made your choice, then. Gryffindor!" He shouted the last word out loud, and she winced a little. The hat was removed and she moved toward that table, passing Vanessa and tapping fingertips with her. Despite there being a bunch of first years at the end, and her being a third year, she promptly sat down at the end with them and smiled. Vanessa went up to the stool, waving and making a face at her father, then turned on her heel and sat, crossing her legs and looking brightly at the Hall. Victoria watched as Dumbledore placed the hat on her head. It seemed like forever until the hat yelled out, "Slytherin!"

Victoria slumped a little, and Vanessa gazed sadly over toward her. Victoria glanced over at the table behind her and grinned. She swiveled around on the bench and faced the now empty seat directly behind her (some students scooted down some) and Vanessa sat backward, also, facing her friend.

"Good thing we're not really hungry, huh, 'Nessa?" Victoria whispered, and the other stifled a laugh. Some students stared, but the rest of the night went on.

After the feast was over and the closing words, warnings and rules were told, the students were dismissed. Victoria hugged Vanessa before her father walked over.

"Good evening, girls. I see you have already managed to test the waters already."

Victoria smiled. "A smooth pond face, while reflective, proves to become very boring."

Vanessa laughed. "Good night, my friend. We shall reunite in the morning."

"Indeed."

The girls broke out in giggles before Snape finally gestured his daughter down the hall. Victoria sighed, saddened by the departure. She looked at her new table. "Are you feeling sad already?"

She turned and saw old Remus. He looked tired and worn, as he always did. He seemed to have tried to look decent for the first evening back to school, however, as he didn't look as downtrodden as he always did.

"I just wish we shared Houses, that's all."

"Well, you ought to get off to your house so you can get some rest."

She nodded and bid him good night, then walked out into the hall. Following straggling Gryffindors, she ran to catch up.

"Who are you?" the female asked, her brown hair bushy and tone authoritative.

"I'm Victoria Black, one of two American transfer students. I am in your House. I didn't see you three in the Hall…"

"Black? As in Sirius Black?" the taller, red-headed one asked.

"Yeah. He's my dad. Granted, I've not met him…" She felt them tense, especially the familiar black-haired one. "Wait, you're…"

"Harry Potter, yeah. Your dad and my dad were best friends when they were here, apparently."

"Okay…" Victoria hesitated, sensing aggression from him.

"Come on, Harry, let's just go." The girl suggested, pulling his arm. He shook his head a bit at Victoria and marched off. The red head waited a second.

"You are in our House, so you should follow so you can get in, okay?"

She nodded and thanked him.


	2. Rejection? That's What She Thinks

Victoria looked around the common room, where everyone was avoiding her. She cursed herself for mentioning her last name. So she curled up by the fire and read the one non-academic book that she had brought with her. She had made a bet with Fate that she would share a house with her best friend, and she had lost. If only she hadn't resisted the hat so. What is done is done, she decided. And then she remembered with a pang that Vanessa had her iPod.

The Harry Potter boy and his friends had gotten into the Great Hall late, as well. She had heard that he had stayed at the Leaky Cauldron for the last of the summer, because he had blown up his aunt. Well, Victoria had been there, too, but hadn't seen him there. She had caught a glimpse of him at the ice cream parlor, but other than that…

Vanessa had stayed somewhere with her dad, who apparently neither Harry nor the other boy liked, due to the expressions on their faces when he had approached to escort her to the dungeons. Victoria giggled. Escorted to the dungeons, like a misbehaving student. She caught a couple students looking at her and she stopped giggling.

She got fed up and stormed upstairs, jostling half a pair of twins on her way up. They ignored her, just like everybody else.

But lying in bed didn't help. She was left to fume, thinking too much about her problem. So she snuck back down and out of the common room, and into the castle main. She heard a very loud, obnoxious voice down one end of the hall, so she walked in the opposite direction. A suit of armor waved at her as she passed, and, laughing a little, she waved back. She snuck quietly back to the main entrance and faced the stairs that lead towards the Slytherin dungeons. She wanted her music so she could wander the grounds and blare everything out, but she didn't want Snape to send her back to her House.

Sighing, she left the castle. She smiled to herself. Snape had been very surprised that her iPod worked in Diagon Alley. She could just do that to electronic things. It was a nice talent. She couldn't get radio stations or internet, though, just use programs already in her electronics. It had greatly annoyed Snape. Oh well.

She walked back to the lake, looking at a weird fat tree waving its branches around. There was a gap between the ground and its roots, and she bet she could fit… if those damned branches weren't hitting anything that came near.

She laid down on the ground, balling up her dad's old school robes and used them as a pillow. Looking up at the sky, she began to drift off. The cool night air calmed her nerves and soon she was asleep.

The dawn light woke her, and she sat up. A cat was lying next to her, a big orange thing with a squashed face. A shadow fell over her from behind her. She froze, hoping it wasn't a teacher.

"You sleep well?" a friendly, teasing voice spoke. The shadow shrank and then there was a boy sitting next to her in the grass.

She realized all at once that she was covered with morning dew and her hair was half plastered over her face. "Um, hi. I just, um…"

He laughed. "It's all right, I'm not a nark. My name is Jarek Harlon. I'm in Ravenclaw."

"I'm Victoria B-… Just Victoria… I'm in-"

"Gryffindor. I know. Can I call you Tory?"

"Sure. Um, what time is it?"

"And hour before classes start. Good thing I found you. I was out for my run."

"You run every morning?"

"Yeah. Otherwise I'm too hyper for class. I drive Snape crazy, it's a riot. McGonagall has sent me to Dumbledore I have no idea how many times because I won't calm down, Filtch has it out for me in the halls, but I don't think you know who that is. And Flitwick has no idea what to do with me, he's actually quite cool…

He was talking almost a mile a minute, and the sheer suddenness of it caught her off guard. She tried to fight back the laughter but her grin exploded and she burst out laughing. He stopped talking and watched her curiously.

"I'm so sorry. I really am. But no one was acknowledging my existence last night and I felt so miserable and I've probably just totally put you off…"

"It's okay. Let's just hurry back to the castle so you can change and get your class things. I can wait outside your House."

"Okay. So… do you want to be friends?"

"Sure. No one else can handle me. I'm sure you'll be lots of fun." He grinned, his eyes dancing. He stood, brushing a hand through his short, spiky dark blonde hair. He put out his hand to help her up and he suddenly took off running toward the castle with her father's robes he'd picked up off the ground.

"HEY!" she yelled, running after him. "Punk!"

All she heard from him was his laughter.


	3. The Battle Begins

Victoria walked into Potions with her new shadow, Jarek. Vanessa waved them over, eyeing her best friend's new follower. "Who is this?"

"Jarek, meet Vanessa, Vanessa, meet Jarek. He's in Ravenclaw. We met this morning during his morning run."

"Hi! Nice to meet ya!" Jarek enthused, holding out a hand. Vanessa shook it and grinned.

Snape walked in, took a glance at Jarek, and sighed. "I see you found your way to class on time. Let's see how long you keep that up this year."

Jarek grinned. "You may be in for a surprise, sir."

The Potions master gave him a measured look before glancing at the girls. Then he turned and focused on the class.

And so school officially started.

"Is it just me, or is he tense?" Victoria asked after class, watching her friend's father do his gliding thing out of the classroom. Vanessa shrugged.

"I asked him last night if something was wrong, but he wouldn't tell me anything."

"You mean he isn't always like this?" Jarek asked. He picked up both girls bags and carried them, along with his own. The girls looked at him, then at each other.

"Um, kinda. Usually he's just sarcastic. He dislikes people who don't think before they act, or think that they are better than others just because of their station in life. Or people who pity themselves but don't work to be better. But today he's sarcastic and snippy. However, we have never had a class with him, so maybe that's why you don't see a difference…"

Jarek thought about that, then turned back to the girls. "So you two are from America?"

"Yes. My mom disapproved of the pathetic teachings at the American wizarding school. She said that they are getting soft and are not teaching their students to be prepared. The Americans have come to rely a little too much on their soldiers, even as they scorn them. It's really quite horrible. When I graduate, though, I want to go back and go into the services. They use talented people such as ourselves for more intricate defense. You can't find anything about it, however, it's highly classified so that civilians don't discover our magic. Not even the President knows, I think. Well, the old one, anyway, I think they just voted in a new one… I heard rumors around school that he's a wizard."

"Cool. So how do you know about the defense thing if it's so classified?"

"My mom."

"Ah. But yeah, your school comment is the exact same reason my parents sent me over here to begin with. So you two are probably behind…"

Vanessa laughed. "Yeah right. Like my father would let me fall behind. I'm probably ahead of you."

"In Potions at least, I suck at that class. And your father didn't let me forget that."

"Do you try hard?"

"Sometimes. But after a while I give up a little. I always make an effort again eventually though."

"Well, I could always tutor you in Potions." Vanessa stated slyly. Victoria looked over at her, knowing she was planning something.

"That would be cool."

"So what state are you from?" Victoria asked, wanting to divert Vanessa's potential flirting.

"Ohio."

"Oh, that's where I was, too. Vanessa moved near where I lived when I was ten, and we've been inseparable ever since."

They reached Herbology class, and the girls paused in the door as Jarek continued inside.

"What are you doing?" Victoria hissed.

"He is adorable. I am going to get him."

"But I saw him first!" Victoria was hurt.

"Well, to the victor go the spoils, then, eh?" Vanessa teased, sashaying into the classroom. Victoria followed, biting back tears. She knew Vanessa's tendency to win everything she worked for. While she did cherish her prizes, that didn't matter right now.

Because he was her friend, not a trophy to be won. Besides, it seemed that with the recent breakout of her father from Azkaban, her surname was a brand that kept everyone else away. He was the only on it didn't seem to effect, and she did really like him.

Victoria picked at her lunch, not registering a presence next to her.

"Hello. My name is Draco."

Victoria didn't turn. "I thought Slytherins hated Gryffindors."

"What about you and the Snape girl?"

"Well, I don't think that will last much longer…" Victoria was in tears before she could finish speaking.

Draco hesitated, watching her put her head in her arms on the table. He put a hand lightly on her shoulder, sitting next to her. "Hey, ah, don't cry… Um, what's happened?"

"Boys suck is what happened."

He removed his hand. "Um, why?"

"No one else, well, except you now, will talk to me because I'm Sirius' daughter. But Jarek did, and now she is going to win him over and I won't even have a chance…"

"Why not?"

"Because she's better than me. She's prettier, smarter, and she has this damned talent for getting what she wants. And she's supposed to be my friend, my best friend, and it's not even stopping her."

Draco sat there. "Well, really, she doesn't seem like all that. I mean, she's got assertiveness, which guys like. Sometimes. But maybe you could play a different angle."

She sat up and wiped her face before looking at him. Her face was a little red, but not much. Her eyes were really bright, though, a bright grey that was rather pretty. "What angle would that be?"

"Well, the whole damsel in distress thing. Make him feel like he wants to protect you. Don't be all sappy about it though, because that would make you pathetic-"

"Why are you sitting over here, Malfoy?"

Draco and Victoria looked over. She recognized the three from the first night. Harry was glaring at her, and seemed to have been the one who spoke. The red head and the girl stood in silence, and she noticed Victoria's face. "Oh, are you all right?"

Victoria shrugged, then looked down at her lap. She didn't do anything to Potter, why was he being such a jerk?

"I was just comforting her, Potter. You don't seem to make anything better yourself, so why worry your precious head off?"

"What is going on?"

Snape had appeared, as he liked to do, out of thin air. Victoria felt her face go red, and she muttered something about going to the owl tower and escaped. Harry glared at him. "Nothing, sir."

"He was complaining because I was sitting here, sir." Draco narked.

Snape studied Harry. "Feel free to sit at the Slytherin table, Potter, I'm sure you would feel just as welcome as you have made Draco."

"No thanks, sir. I think I'll be going now."

"I'm going to the library." Hermione announced, rushing off. Ron looked after her.

"It's only the first day, what's she got to study already?"

"Maybe you should take a leaf out of her book, Weasly. Then maybe this year you would improve your Potions score…"

Victoria didn't go to the owlery. Instead, she found her way back to the lake, where that orange cat was sunbathing on the rock. She scratched behind its ears a little. She was hoping that Vanessa and Jarek weren't together right now, but he had said he wasn't hungry. So he had wandered off, and Vanessa mysteriously disappeared as well.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her shoulders. She screamed, pulling out her wand and spinning around. Facing Jarek, she saw him doubled up laughing. "Vanessa hit me when I did that." He said between laughter. "But your reaction was so much better…"

She smacked him up side his head, which only made him laugh harder.

"Fine then! Be like that! I don't need anyone!" She stormed off toward the trees, again biting back tears. She felt so stupid and pathetic…

"Hey! What do you mean? Come back!"

She heard him jogging to catch up with her, than matching her pace. "Stop walking so fast. What's wrong?"

"Vanessa has decided to be a bitch, and everyone either ignores my existence or shrinks away like I'm going to murder them at any second." Suddenly remembering Draco's advice, she made a quick addition. "And I'm no good at Transfiguration and I don't know what to do." Truthfully, she was beyond the best Transfiguration student in America, and had even impressed Snape with her wandwork. But that wouldn't be very damsel in distress-y, would it?

"Really? Well, I don't know about Vanessa, and everyone else can shove it. But I can totally help you in Transfig."

"You would do that?" she asked, stopping and looking at him as cute as she could muster. She didn't really like sucking up to guys, but the expression on his face when he wanted to help her so much was so endearing…

"Yeah I would help you. Besides, you don't scare me. Black name or not, I can see you're harmless."

"Oh, thanks." She laughed.

"Ah ha! I got a laugh. Let's see if I can get more…" He wiggled his fingers as if he was going to tickle her, and she jumped away, dashing off into the trees.

"Hey! You're not supposed to go… Who am I kidding, I go in there all the time… OI! Wait up!"


	4. Skipping Class

"What's your next class, anyway?" Jarek asked, sitting next to her on a large stump in the forest.

"Care of Magical Creatures."

"Okay, cool. Hagrid isn't uptight like the other teachers, and he probably won't even notice we aren't there. What class is after that?"

"History of Magic."

"Gah, that one… I can teach that class so much better, and make it less of a drool fest…"

Victoria looked at him questioningly.

"Oh, well, you see, the teacher for that class is Professor Binns… He's a ghost, and he drones on and on about troll wars in the most monotone of monotone voices ever to walk the earth. Or, rather, glide the earth, now…"

She laughed. "So are you suggesting we skip both classes?"

"Yeah. I mean, would you rather be in class or be out here, roaming the forest with me?"

"The forest does sound fun. But how about we go to Hagrid's class, and skip History?"

"Yeah, okay. Hagrid's bound to be interesting. He's a nice guy but he is of the opinion that dragons make great pets…"

"Depends on the dragon."

"What?"

"Well, there's the Pygmy Dragon, which gets no bigger than a Doberman. They are also the least aggressive and the ones with the smallest diets. Granted, they eat a lot compared to, say, a Doberman, but they're a hell of a lot more interesting."

"What about the breathing fire part?"

"They don't do that unless they feel like they're being threatened. They're great for protecting the home. They sense their owners' feelings about each visitor, so they know if they are hostile or not."

"So, like a Doberman, they are guard dogs?"

"But so much cooler."

Jarek laughed.

"And on top of that, they can remain in the same spot and position for weeks, so they can make a sweet-ass lawn decoration for, say, Halloween."

"Awesome. I want one, now."

He stood up and stretched. "Alright, if you want to go to Care of Magical Creatures, we should head over there now. Maybe you should talk to Hagrid about that Pygmy Dragon. You'd be his new best friend. Well, until he gets the dragon."

Class was definitely interesting. Hagrid had brought then hippogriffs, and told them exactly what to do to not insult them and therefore pay the price. Draco got cocky and, of course, got slashed by a foot-long talon.

So the first Care of magical Creatures class ended a little early…

Jarek and Victoria snuck back into the forest and got to the stump. He jumped up on it and drew his wand. "Okay, first lesson. Confidence." He waved his wand and pointed it at a rock on the ground, which turned into a baseball. "Just feel it. Picture exactly what you want it to be. Wanna try turning that back into a rock?"

Victoria smiled and flicked her wand at it. It turned back into a rock, but it was still spherical and they could see it had ridges like the stitches on a baseball exactly like she wanted. Of course, he didn't know that.

"Great attempt. But we have lots of time to practice."

They spent the next hour transfiguring nature and turning it back. It was the most fun she'd had in a while.

"What are you two doing here?"

They both jumped in surprise and turned toward the voice, solemn and deep. A centaur stood there, a chestnut color.

"Um, hi. Sorry to intrude. We were just-"

"Skipping class?" the centaur interrupted. We've been watching. But you both know you are not allowed in the forest."

Jarek jumped down from the stump. "Yeah… Well, we were just going to…um…"

"Transfiguration, actually." Victoria finished. "Sorry if we bothered you. We shall be going now." She smiled brightly at him and dashed off with Jarek. He was grinning.

"You have no idea how many times he's caught me in the forest. I actually think he's fond of me. And everyone knows Dumbledore knows everything that goes on around here, and he's never said a thing to me. He has no reason to, all my grades are high. Well, not Potions, but I don't skip that class. Maybe if I did every once and a while, my grade would go up…"

"Somehow, I doubt that."

They arrived at McGonagall's class a little early and waited outside the door. Vanessa showed up with both their bags and thrust Victoria's at her. Her displeasure showed on her face and she stood away from the two of them until the doors opened. She stormed inside, breezing past McGonagall. The professor looked at Victoria in surprise. Victoria sighed.

"It's complicated. I'll explain later…"

Jarek shrugged when the questioning gaze fell to him and he followed his moping friend into the classroom, where they sat away from Vanessa because any closer and her glare would kill Victoria.

Needless to say, Victoria's wandwork for the class was poor, but not on purpose. She concentrated on not looking at Vanessa's penetrating stare and not crying from the loss of her best friend, practically her sister.

McGonagall made Victoria stay after class, allowing Jarek to wait outside for her.

"Now, what is going on? You two are as thick as thieves."

"I'm in the way of her new goal…"

"And what goal is that?"

"She wants to date Jarek. I like him a lot too. Not that he seems to realize it from either of us. But she has the habit of getting what she wants, only I've never been in her way before, and she hates me for it…"

"That is silly. Granted Mr. Harlon is a very nice boy, he can be quite oblivious to girls. I really don't know what advice to give, but seeing as you are in my House, I suppose I can try to help. I really shouldn't, but I've seen how everyone else has treated you and every girl needs someone to stand by her. And if Vanessa wants to steal him away and not even be a friend herself, then there is a problem there, isn't there?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there are different ways of getting attention, and the way Vanessa is doing it is not a very honorable one. Did you see the shirt she was wearing? If her father saw that…" McGonagall shook her head. "But anyway. All I can advise is to be a good girl. Which I have no doubt you aren't. Be the kind of friend you to Jarek that you would want him to be. But friends, right now. Make him realize that you won't bend to any ridiculous trends to get a boy. Now, you better hurry to Defense for Dark Arts."

Victoria nodded and turned toward the door. Just before she reached it, her teacher added, "And remember. You are Victoria Black. Just because it's stained by previous Blacks doesn't mean you can't make it new. Believe in yourself."

Victoria smiled. "Thank you, Professor."

Dinner was fun. Jarek ignored his table and sat at Gryffindor's, bringing a friend from second year.

"Hi, I'm Luna. Luna Lovegood." She introduced herself in a dreamy voice. Her earrings caught Victoria's attention. They looked like plums. Victoria grinned.

"This is Tory." Jarek said, gesturing Luna to sit. She did, on the other side of Victoria.

"Hello, Tory. It's very nice to meet you. Your earrings are pretty. I made mine. They repel Nargles, did you know that?" Victoria's earrings were a crescent moon on the left side and a sun on the right.

"No, I didn't. I made mine, too. Well, kinda. I got a couple charms and put them on French hooks, but you won't find them in a store."

"I like unique things. Being like everyone else is so sad, don't you think?"

"Indeed."

"And I like your name. Tory. What is it short for?"

"Victoria."

"Ah. Much better than Vicky. People poke fun at that name."

"Yes, I know."

Dinner appeared on the table and everyone dug in. Victoria noticed that several people down the table kept stealing glances at the three of them, but right now she didn't care.

"Mind if we sit here?" asked a pair of identical twins, sitting at the seats across from them. "We're Fred and George."

"Or is it George and Fred?" the other one queried.

"Or is it Gred and Forge?" they said in unison.

"Why not Forge and Gred?" Jarek asked.

"Oh, we're gonna like you. We've heard about you from a fellow Gryffindor. Is it true you stuck Filtch in a wardrobe?" asked one.

"Yeah, he was trying to confiscate my bag. He thought I had dungbombs. Of course, I did, but they weren't for me."

"And you got away scot-free?" asked the other.

"Yeah. But that's just because Peeves distracted him, and he never got back to me."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." They both said, reaching over to shake his hand.

Victoria grinned. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.


	5. Poisoned

"Somehow, I don't think I signed up for this…"

It was two weeks after the Quidditch match of Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. The storm was horrible, and Victoria and Jarek had helped Fred and George recover the pieces of Harry's broom. Fred had told her she didn't have to help since he was being such a git, but she did anyway. Besides, Jarek wanted to help, so she did, too.

Vanessa was still after Jarek, but even with her advances while she tutored him in Potions, he didn't fall for her. Which made her very unhappy. She no longer noticed Victoria, convinced that she had won him and wasn't telling. Her father, Snape, had told her off for trying to make love potion, and Victoria was shocked at her trying to cheat. Vanessa didn't even hang out with him except for when she tutored him, so she didn't even really know him that well.

Victoria was with him almost all the time. Or, rather, he was with her. Occasionally they'd land in detention, but only because they got caught skipping class and hanging out in the owlrey instead. Yet whenever they were in the forest, they never got caught.

Right now, however, they were helping the twins prank Peeves. Peeves was always on the lookout, but he found it much fun. Of course, he pranked back twice as bad, and then the twins would get him twice worse than that…and the cycle went on. Fred and George were trying to Charm a suit of armor into pelting the poltergeist with dungbombs, and Jarek and Victoria were lookouts for them to warn them when Filtch was coming.

"Well, would you rather be at the game?"

Slytherin and Ravenclaw were playing Quidditch, so the whole school was there watching. Well, almost the whole school. Later the third years and up would go to Honeydukes, Victoria and Jarek included.

"I think we got it!" George cheered. He and Fred high-fived and the four of them darted off. "The game might still be on. Want to go?"

"I really don't want to." She answered, folding her arms across her chest. She wasn't feeling well. Maybe she should go to the infirmary.

"Nah, go on without us. I'll stay with her." Jarek said, putting an arm around her and waving them on.

"See ya later." they responded, running off.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know. I don't feel sick, but I don't feel right…"

"Well, come on, let's go hang out somewhere."

"Got somewhere in mind?"

"Not really. How about the library?"

"Okay."

Turns out, Filtch and troublemakers weren't the only ones left in the castle. Jade, another Ravenclaw, was sitting at a table studying.

"Oh, hello Jarek." She cooed at him, ignoring Victoria's presence. She, like Vanessa, had her wicked eye set on Jarek Harlon. She was similar to Vanessa, with thick black hair and a powerful personality. Jarek waved and lead Victoria to the Care of Magical Creatures section.

"Are people still shunning you?" he asked, worried.

"It doesn't bother me anymore. Mostly Jade just wants to pretend I don't exist…"

"Why?"

"Well, she wants to distract you from me, actually…"

"What for?"

"Well, she wants your attention. Quite a few girls do."

"Do you?"

Victoria set her head on the table, her arms folded under it. "I do, in a way, already."

"In the way you want?"

She turned her head. "I love having you as a friend. I don't want to lose that. It's what matters right now."

"Hm. Hey, you don't look well, Tory…"

She wasn't feeling well, either. Her head had suddenly gotten fuzzy and she felt very cold. Jarek saw her shivering and stood. Right before Victoria blacked out, she saw Jade walk by with an evil smile on her face.

Jarek caught her and carried her towards the infirmary. Down one end of the hallway, Snape walked around the corner and saw them.

"Mr. Harlon, what are you doing?"

"We were in the library and she passed out. I don't know what's wrong."

Snape walked up and examined her, opening an eye to look into it and feeling her cheek. "Follow me. She's been poisoned."

"What?!"

He followed after Snape's wake, the teacher setting a brisk pace. Jarek wanted to run, but he wasn't sure where he was going.

Apparently, the infirmary.

"Set her on a bed and get Madam Pomfrey."

Jarek did so, and followed the healer back into the infirmary.

"Now, Mr. Harlon, go down to my dungeon and bring me the potion in a dark blue flask."

"Yes, sir." Jarek dashed out, sprinting to the dungeons.

Snape's was lined with rows of shelves, broken only by a door on the far end. Most of the potions were in clear vials, some of them black to keep out light. One above the fireplace was blue, and he snatched it off the shelf and raced back up to the infirmary.

"Thank you. Now get out."

"But-"

Victoria was starting to twitch, her skin even more pale than before, and Jarek could see sweat on her forehead. He also noticed, with slight embarrassment, that her whole body was covered in sweat and her shirt was soaked, clinging to her. She cried out in pain and he moved to go to her side.

"Out, Jarek. The toxins on her skin can harm you if you touch her."

"Then I won't touch her. Let me stay!"

"Madam, if you will…" Snape requested, turning away from Jarek.

Madam Pomfrey swept over to the frightened student and pushed him out. "You heard what he said. Go. You can wait in the hall."

He was shoved out and the doors shut in his face. He heard them lock and he hit the door. He rested his forehead against it for a second before turning and looking out the window opposite the infirmary doors.

"Tory…"

"What's going on? Why are you out here all alone?"

Recognizing Vanessa's voice, he didn't even turn. "Tory's been poisoned. She didn't look well at all…"

Her footsteps stopped. "What? Do you know who?"

"No. She blacked out in the library. Your dad said she was poisoned."

"What happened the whole day? Tell me every detail and maybe we can figure out what happened."

"Well, we met up at breakfast. She didn't eat anything, she just had some coffee. We went to classes. Skipped History and spent it hanging out. Went to lunch. She had a sandwich but didn't like it so she just had pumpkin juice instead. Quidditch started, we hung out with Fred and George for a bit then went to the library. And then she passed out."

"What was in the sandwich?"

"Um, I think it was just ham and cheese."

"She doesn't like ham, so she wouldn't have finished it, but we shouldn't rule that out. What did she put in her coffee?"

"Some sugar and chocolate milk. Only," Jarek smiled. "There wasn't any left at the Gryffindor table, so I got some from mine."

"Who was sitting at Ravenclaw?"

"Um, I don't know their names. No one was near the milk except for that one girl who was in the library with us…."

"What's her name?"

"Uh, I don't remember. Kinda looks like you… long black hair, black eyes."

"I know who that is… I've heard from Luna that she was up to something…" Vanessa stormed off, drawing her wand. "You said the library?"

"Um, bad idea…"

She ignored him and ran off. He looked at the doors of the infirmary, then back at Vanessa, who was getting further away.

"She can handle herself." He decided out loud, resting against the wall.

"Come on, Jarek!"

He huffed, torn again.

"It'll be about an hour in there, judging by the look of the girl." Spoke a man in one of the portraits.

"Is she going to be okay?" Jarek asked. He saw Vanessa waiting at the end of the hallway for him.

Another man stepped into the frame. "Oh, she doesn't look great in there. That was a strong poison for a non lethal one."

"Non lethal?"

"She'll be fine, son. Go on. We'll fetch you when it's about time."

Jarek nodded and raced after Vanessa.

Victoria had a pounding headache and felt frozen. She hurt all over, and she could see things happening in her head. Horrible things. Vanessa lay motionless in the grass, the castle burning in the background. Jarek was being hurt, she could feel his pain. Luna was injured, but fighting. She'd lost an earring. Something hit her and she felt it herself. By the lake more people were fighting, most students, and some people in black. A tomb lay broken near the lake, she wondered whose it was… A voice boomed in the darkness, but she couldn't understand what it said. Jarek was struck down, a black figure torturing him. She felt the pain, so much pain, she couldn't cry out for him. Huge, hulking figures loomed in the darkness, stepping on people and destroying the castle. She saw McGonagall, fighting, wand in one hand, cane in the other… Peeves was trying to help. The pain stopped, and Jarek tried to get back up…

Everything went black again.

"Where are you two going in such a rush?"

Vanessa and Jarek stopped in their tracks. Professor Dumbledor stood outside the door of the library, a very forlorn Draco next to him.

"Sir, Tory's been poisoned!"

"It's that-"

Dumbledore raised his hand. Draco looked up at him.

"Told you something wasn't right. She'd been sneaking around in Professor Snape's classroom."

"Well, I see you were indeed right, however it is too late to stop her. She seems to have run away after she realized what she had done."

"Jade ran away? Where to?" Vanessa asked.

"Into the forest. Not a good idea. I sent Hagrid and a few other members of the staff to retrieve her before she gets hurt in the forest.

"What if she's not found?"

"Oh, worry not. She'll be found. And of course, she will be punished for what she has done, and by the proper authorities, which none of you are. Avenging a friend is noble, but not while you still have not learned all you should learn. And Vanessa, I heard you and young Miss Black had a falling out."

"It doesn't matter right now. I would never do this to her."

"Right now? You mean to say that you are going to go back to the way things were after this?"

The tumult of voices sounded in the halls, the match apparently over. It saved her from answering the question.

"Wait, aren't you Slytherin's seeker?" Jarek asked Draco.

"I faked sick." the boy responded. "This was more important."

Jarek and Vanessa sat on the ground outside the infirmary, ignoring all stares they received. Soon, Luna joined them, and then Fred and George. Hermione joined too, accompanied by Ron and Harry, though the former begrudgingly.

Jarek stood up just as the door started to open, rushing in. The others followed, and Snape stopped his daughter. "I need to talk to you."


	6. Something's Not Right

I want to send a great thanks to those who sent me reviews, made me so excited. I made a mistake with the character thing with Luna and Draco, that's for my next fanfic. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I got distracted…

Also, I don't own any traditional Hogwarts characters. My own creations are Victoria, Vanessa and their mothers. Jarek really belongs to my best friend, but I am bringing him to life on the screen. Though, so far, my buddy is very pleased.

Thanks for all the reviews again. I'm very hyper now. Keep on reading!! :D

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Victoria felt warm, the frozen feeling gone. Her body was no longer in pain, and she wasn't seeing things anymore. She stretched, sighing. Opening her eyes, she saw Jarek rush in. Remembering seeing him in pain made her heart hurt, but there he was, whole and healthy. He stopped at her side and looked at her, checking to see if everything was normal again.

"She has to stay here and rest for a couple days; we want to make sure it's all out of her system." Madam Pomfrey told him as the others walked in. "Not so many people please. She doesn't need to be crowded."

Jarek sat next to her and brushed his fingertips up and down her hand. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, just a little tired. It was horrifying, though…"

"Shh. You don't have to talk about it right now. Everything is going to be alright. I'll make sure of it. I swear to it, my friend."

She looked at him and wished she could say what she wanted to. But if that's all he wanted… But at least she had that. And no matter what, she didn't want to lose that.

She turned her attention to the others when Luna touched her other hand.

"Are you quite alright? I heard from Draco that you had been harmed. They found Jade; the centaurs had gotten her before she could get lost. Dumbledore is talking to her now. He is did not look pleased when they brought her into the castle."

"Now that you're bedridden, we won't have lookouts. Why'd you have to go and get poisoned?"

"Oh, yes. It was completely intentional to ruin your plans." Victoria stated dryly.

"How did it happen, Victoria?" Hermione asked.

"I have no idea."

"Her coffee was poisoned. Well, apparently the chocolate milk from Ravenclaw's table was poisoned. She put that in her coffee."

"And Jade did it? I didn't know she knew Potions so well, I thought her scores were as low as mine." Ron commented.

Jarek noticed Vanessa was gone, along with her father. "Tory, I'll be right back, okay?"

"I'll be here."

He snuck down to the dungeons, hearing Snape telling someone off. He crept closer to the door and crouched down by the keyhole, listening.

"-could get expelled for this. And after being friends with her for this long, you do something as foolish as that? I didn't approve of it to begin with, but I let it go. I even brought you over here when her mother sent her, so that you two didn't have to separate, yet you completely betray her!"

"If you don't approve, why does it matter?"

"I said I didn't then. That doesn't mean I don't feel differently now."

"Yeah, right. With her father almost killing you in school?"

"She is not her father, unlike how most of the students here think. It was unfortunate timing, her mother sending her here. She's left her daughter scorned in the wizarding world and now without her best friend."

"Well, that's her problem."

"What has gotten into you, Vanessa?"

"Maybe I'm tired of supporting her all the time. She's weak, and she gets in my way. She's always been holding me back. But she's like a freaking puppy! Now I guess I'm done being followed."

Jarek heard footsteps advancing and he backed away, slipping behind a curtain hanging on the wall. As she passed, he thought about what was said.

"You can come out from behind there, now, Mr. Harlon. She's gone."

Jarek stepped back into the hallway to face Snape. "She poisoned Tory, not Jade."

"Oh, Jade did it. Vanessa just conveniently left out the formula to the poison so Jade would find it. She apparently knew Jade's shared interest in you. What makes you so interesting, I wonder?"

"No idea. Tory is going to be so hurt…"

"She's been hurt since school started. Apparently she was using you as an excuse to separate from Miss Black."

"So why poison her?"

"To keep up the charade, I suppose. She hadn't intended to go so far, I think, though. She tends to get focused on a detail, without looking at the whole picture."

"So what now?"

"I am going to keep an eye on her. I've already given her detention. You should take care of Victoria. She's in a lot of pain. Her father is being hunted, the school doesn't trust her and she lost her best friend."

"No, she didn't."

"Hm?"

"She doesn't need Vanessa. She hasn't been around since the first day of classes. Tory has made it this long without her. If anything, I'm her best friend."

For the next two days, Jarek skipped all his classes and studied in the infirmary with Victoria. Much to Madam Pomfrey's distaste, he also decided to sleep in there. Only, sleeping was a bit of a stretch because they talked almost all night.

"So what was your biggest fear?" he asked her, staring up at the ceiling.

She was silent for a while. He looked over at her, and her eyes were closed. Her mouth opened. "I have a couple. One is being trapped. I don't mind small spaces. But I have to know I can get out. If I can't, I'll freak out."

"And the other one?'

"Losing everything close to me. I hate being alone in the world. I feel invisible to almost everybody. When I was in the muggle schools, I was nothing. Invisible. Ignored. Then I met Vanessa my first year and I had a friend. We were practically sisters. But now, she's gone. She hates me. I know she was the one behind me getting poisoned. Jade's too dense in potions to know that poison. And no one here likes me because of a stupid name…"

Jarek got up and laid down next to Victoria, holding her in his arms. "It's okay. I like you plenty. And there are the others. But even without then, I'll always be here for you."

She rolled over to face him, holding him back and burying her face into his chest. They stayed there in silence. Before they both fell asleep, she asked him what his biggest fear was.

"Fish."

"Fish?"

"Big fish."

"Why?"

"One tried to eat me once…"

She laughed a little and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

"I'm afraid to let you have coffee."

"Come on, give it back. I'll be fine."

"Nope."

"On, come on. Anything here can be poisoned. Does that mean I'm not allowed to eat?"

Jarek nodded. Yes. You are not allowed to eat."

"Jarek!"

He laughed. "Okay, fine. Have your coffee. But if you die, don't blame me."

She stuck her tongue out at him and poured herself coffee. Fred and George joined them. "Hello, boys." She greeted.

"Hello. Shouldn't you be avoiding coffee like the plague?" George commented.

"Well, if I start twitching, let me know."

"That's not funny." All three boys protested.

"So, you missed the drama in the common room while you were in the infirmary. Apparently-" Fred started.

"Um, Fred, you are totally being insensitive." George interrupted.

"What? She's going to hear about it, it's all over the castle."

"What happened?" Jarek asked.

"What happened is her dad tried to kill me."

Ron came out of nowhere and sat down next to Fred.

"No, he didn't. He was just in the wrong bed." George corrected.

"Wait, my dad was in Gryffindor tower? Why?" Victoria asked.

"Supposedly to kill our unsuspecting moron brother." Fred answered.

"I'm not a moron."

"You're a moron." The twins replied.

"Ron, stop blowing out of proportion." Hermione ordered, sitting on the other side of Victoria. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Thank you."

"Harry has something to say to you."

Harry sat down on the other side of the table beside Ron. "I wanted to apologize for being rude to you. You had nothing to do with the actions of your dad and I shouldn't punish you for what he did."

Victoria saw Hermione nod in approval and smiled.

"Thanks, Harry. It's not like I didn't fear that, anyway. But somehow I feel something is amiss in the information regarding that…"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. But something isn't right…"

During tomorrow's breakfast, the whole group sat together again, Luna included. Victoria noticed Draco sulking off with his buddies when he saw the several other Gryffindors, and she made a mental note to talk to him later. He was very nice to her, but she had heard stories from the Weasleys and Harry about how stuck up he was.

"So how is the Patronus coming, Harry?" Hermione asked, handing Victoria the Daily Prophet. They sat next to each other so they could read it at the same time. The twins took their place across the table, and soon Jarek, hair sticking up all over the place, slouched in and crashed next to Victoria, putting his head down on the table.

That distracted all of them. George poked him, getting swatted.

"Well, he's not dead. Is he sick?"

"Jarek, what's wrong?" Victoria asked, rubbing his back.

"Stupid prat Vanessa isn't tutoring me any more…" they heard him mutter. "I stayed up all night trying to get Snape's Potion paper done…"

"Why isn't she?"

"Because I said no. I don't want to deal with her any more."

"Why? What's she done?" Luna asked.

"Don't worry about it, dear." Victoria stated, touched. Jarek was doing this because Vanessa had helped poison her. She smiled and gave him a hug, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "I can help you out. I'm not as good at it as she is, but I've got pretty good marks in Potions."

She saw the corner of his mouth smile. "Well, I'm going to sleep now."

"So, anyway, the Patronus." Hermione prompted, turning back to Harry.

"Oh, right. Well, I'm doing better."

"We have a match today with Ravenclaw." Ron commented. "So you better not fall off your broomstick again."

"Shut up." Harry protested, hitting Ron in the arm. The twins decided they wanted to join in hitting their brother, so they did. They glanced across the hall and got quiet.

"Shh! Everybody, be quiet."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Premier of a new prank."

Jarek sat up sleepily. "Who's the victim? Peeves?"

"Naw. Malfoy. Just hush!"

Victoria looked around, concerned. Draco was sitting over at his table with his group, talking about something. It seemed to be another reenactment of Harry's fall during the Hufflepuff match. That one was getting old. He paused and took a drink of his pumpkin juice, which had previously been untouched. He started to speak again, and his voice was suddenly loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear.

And a lot higher.

It was like he'd sucked helium out of a balloon. Everyone else turned, the Slytherins frozen in shock, as the rest of the breakfasting school discovered what was happening.

"The idiot, you'd think he'd stop talking." muttered George.

Draco's face went bright red and he fled from the hall, everyone not of Victoria's group or at the Slytherin table laughing at him.

"Aaaand now is our time to escape." The twins said, noticing Snape's attention to them. As he got up, the ran out another door, cracking up.

"That was bloody brilliant." Ron commented.

"And if Draco did that to you, Ron, would you think it so funny?" Hermione asked crossly.

"No, I'd jinx the git."

Jarek was sitting forward again, his shoulders shaking a little. Victoria poked him. "What?"

"That made me giggle." He responded, a huge grin on his face. His expression and tone made Victoria laugh.

"Wow, you're cute." She said between laughter. He made a face at her.

"Oh, no." Hermione spoke, looking at the paper.

"What?" everyone asked, turning to her.

"Sirius Black has been spotted in Honeydukes. Dementors are crawling all over the place now."

Victoria rested her elbows on the table, laughter gone.


	7. Or not

She and Jarek walked to Potions class, and she was looking over this report. "Well, except for a couple spelling errors, I'm not seeing anything wrong with this. Oh, right here. It's three beans, not thirteen. That many would make it blow up in your face and turn your skin purple…"

"Okay, lemme fix it…" He flicked his wand at it and the one disappeared. They entered the class and sat at their cauldrons. Draco sat on the other side of her in this class, the only one they really got to talk in.

"Good morning, Victoria."

"Hello, Draco. Madam Pomfrey fix your voice?"

He scowled. "Yeah. Didn't help that she was trying not to laugh, just like everybody else."

"Not everybody. Luna didn't, and neither did Hermione."

"Did you?"

"A little, but not directly at you… Jarek said something related and… Well, it doesn't matter. How are you now?"

"I'm fine. What's with him?"

She looked to her other side. Jarek was sitting there, almost falling over. "Oh, he's exhausted. He stayed up all night doing Snape's paper."

Snape billowed in at that moment, snatching papers out from people's noses. "As excited as I am to look over all these papers, I must contain my enthusiasm." He commented, glancing at the topmost one and looking rather repulsed. Victoria smiled. She was used to such comments, but she heard mutters from others in the room. Ron looked upset; she realized his paper was the one Snape had scowled at.

Snape set them to work, making the potion that would be tonight's paper topic. When class ended, Jarek was almost sleeping on his feet.

"How about we skip class and go let you sleep in the forest?"

As soon as they got there, he crashed on the moss and fell asleep, using his bag as a pillow. She sat next to him and stroked his hair, which had fallen back into place midway through potions. She noticed her hair was back to normal, like it probably had been but she hadn't noticed. Her thick black hair needed brushed, she'd been too busy this morning to do that. She got into her bag and pulled out her brush. She looked up into the forest and noticed a dog.

It wasn't doing any harm, just sitting there looking at her. It was a big dog, bigger than she had seen before, with thick black fur. She smiled at it and brushed out her hair, returned the brush to her bag and started playing with Jarek's hair again. He looked so calm asleep, his usual energy gone. She sat there for two class hours, playing at his hair and gazing at him.

The only testimony of the time gone by was the realization that she couldn't feel her legs. She stood, stretched and walked around for a minute before sitting back down next to him and slowly stroking his bare arm. He stirred, stretching. He sat up and looked at her, shaking out his hair.

"How long have we been here?" he yawned.

She glanced at her watch. "Two hours. We completely missed History of Magic and Hagrid's class."

"Cool."

She laughed. "Feel better, now?"

"A little. Hey…" he looked at her.

"What?" she asked, her face growing hot.

He reached out a hand, brushing his fingers against her cheek. When he pulled it back, he had a leaf from out of her hair.

"Oh… Come on, let's get to McGonagall's, she will notice we're gone." Victoria stood, embarrassed at what here mind had thought. Professor McGonagall was right, he was oblivious…

She felt him grab her hand, turning her around. "What's wrong?" he asked, pulling her closer.

"Nothing, I just don't want to be late is all. And my legs are asleep, so that's going to slow us down…"

"No problem." He stated, picking up his bag, taking hers and then, much to her surprise, picking her up off the ground.

"Jarek!"

"Hey, your legs are asleep. You kept guard while I slept, least I could do for ya. Now stop wiggling, you'll make me drop you."

They got to McGonagall's right before she shut the door. She gave them a look, raising her eyebrow in silence. Jarek sat her down in her seat, everyone watching, and then took his own.

"How are your legs?"

"They're…fine…Jarek…" she squirmed down in her seat, the scrutiny of all eyes looking at them.

Lunch was uneventful. People all around Victoria were talking about Sirius Black, and she really wished they would shut up. When Ron and Harry started up on it, she got up and left.

Jarek caught up to her. "What's wrong?"

"People, and gossip, and stupid articles." They got into the Entrance Hall, nearby the House Points, which fascinated Victoria. She loves hourglasses and things that looked like them. "I don't know why, but I have the feeling nobody has the information right. Like people made an assumption, and now Dad's paying for it…"

"What, you think he's innocent?"

"I don't know. It's just, something's not right."

That night, Victoria wandered out of the tower again, going down to the lake. It was cold, be she charmed to air around her to be warmer. The Womping Willow was snapping snow off its branches. She sat on the rock after warming it up, too. Drawing her legs up to her chest, she sat there, looking out at the frozen lake.

She felt sad, and alone. She wanted so much to know what she was thinking, but she never did understand her hunches. Just that when she followed them, something happened. When she didn't, nothing changed. But she didn't know what to do. She didn't even know her father. Her mother didn't talk about him much, but when she did, it was like she was full of light, describing something Sirius had done once. Or how he had cherished his only child. Up until the worst happened.

Victoria sighed, resting her chin on her knees. Her hair kept getting in her face.

"Merrrroww."

Crookshanks sat next to Victoria, rubbing against her. But she really didn't feel like having company. She stood up and made to go back to the castle. Turning, she saw it again. The dog. It was sitting in the snow, looking at her. She waved at it and started walking.

_He used to love playing with you as a toddler, changing into that mutt and letting you ride him. Oh, how you'd laugh. He loved you so much._

Victoria stopped, frozen. She turned and looked toward the dog, but it was gone. "No, it can't be." She started to walk out of her path, toward the line of trees that he must have gone behind-

"Victoria, what are you doing? It's freezing out here and it is past curfew."

She turned back. Professor Lupin was walking towards her.

"Oh, hi, Remu- Sorry. Professor Lupin. I couldn't sleep…"

"Well, come inside. The dementors aren't too keen on leaving stray students alone at night."

He sent her back up to Gryffindor tower where she sat in the common room and stared into the remnants of the fire.


	8. Depression

Again, I own no part of Rowling's original characters, just my own.

_______________________ _

Victoria was silent all day.

All freaking day. It was driving him nuts. All his best efforts to get something out of her won him only small smiles, which disappeared quickly. He'd ask what was wrong, got nothing but a troubled shrug. She was driving him crazy.

Short drive, but that's not the point.

So he went to classes alongside her. They didn't skip any today, and when they went to Hagrid's class, she was distracted, staring out into the forest like she was waiting for someone. When it was dinnertime, he finally broke and pulled her off to the side.

"What's wrong? And don't tell me nothing or shrug or any of that. What the bloody hell is wrong?"

Her eyes were wide, his sudden activity startling her. She started to shrug, but he gave her a look. "I'm sorry, Jarek. But I can't tell, especially if I'm wrong. Though I should probably talk to Dumbledore…"

"Then do it! Something, anything to get you out of this bloody trance of yours!"

She looked at him with her silvery grey eyes sadly. "I'm sorry if I upset you." She looked, to his dismay, like she was about to cry.

"No. No, none of that. Stop. Tory!" he wiped away a stray tear. "Tory, you can tell me anything, luv. Just don't cry…"

She seemed taken aback for a second, but then she just turned away from him. "Do you like me?"

"Of course I like you, silly goose. You're my best friend."

"I'm going to go visit the headmaster." She whispered in a chocked voice, jogging away from him. He stood there in the empty corridor, wondering what he had said.

She turned a corner and ran right into Draco. She fell over, hitting her head on the wall.

"Oh! Victoria, I'm sorry." Draco scrambled up, having fallen on his own ass as well, and helped her up. She was holding the back of her head and wouldn't look at him. "I'm so sorry, please don't be mad at me. Are you okay?"

She sobbed once, trying to hide from him that she was crying her eyes out. He turned her and caught sight of her before she could turn around again. He stood there for a second, thinking about what to do. Nervously, he pulled her over to him and held her, letting her cry.

"It's okay. You're fine, no blood. I'm sure it hurts though, those walls are unforgiving. Shh." He rubbed her back, feeling her put her arms around his waist. He froze for another second. He'd thought… Maybe he was mistaken… She did hang out with the Golden Trio… Well, okay, just a little bit, but surely she didn't like him…

He liked her.

"What's going on here, why aren't you two at dinner?" McGonagall's voice called down the hall.

"Um, she hit her head really hard. I'd ran into her and she fell down… She's crying Professor." His voice broke at the last part, rising to nearly a squeak. She came over and pulled Victoria off of him. Her warmth left, and he stood there, suddenly lonely.

"Miss Black, what is the matter? Surely it's not just that you fell?"

"It's stupid!" she sobbed. "And I think…but I might be wrong…but it might be his life and he might not have done anything!" Draco thought he heard a little something else about Jarek, but McGonagall started talking.

"What are you saying, child?"

"I was going to go see Dumbledore. But then I ran into Draco and now all this and I'm so pathetic…"

Draco wanted immediately to tell her she wasn't, but McGonagall shooed him away. "Go on to dinner, . I will take care of her from here."

Jarek watched Draco come to dinner late, looking a shade or two paler than usual. He caught his eyes and looked deliberately away, rushing to go sit at his table. "What's he up to?"

"What?" Luna asked, turning to Jarek.

"I said that out loud?"

"Yes. Are you talking about Draco? Here, I'll go ask." She stood and skipped off to go to the Slytherin table. Jarek turned around, back to the plate of food he'd barely touched. He pushed around a potato with his fork, thinking about Victoria. What was wrong with her? And did he make her cry? He didn't mean to… He didn't know what he'd done.

"Can't stop thinking about her, can you?" Hermione whispered. Jarek sat at Gryffindor all the time now, and he'd naturally sat there even without his Tory. Luna sat with him, because, as she claimed, he was much more interesting to sit with than to sit alone.

"Huh?"

"Victoria. You were thinking about her, weren't you? I'm surprised you two aren't dating, you two fit so well."

"I dunno. We're just friends. She probably doesn't like me like that."

She huffed. "Seriously. Boys can be so dense."

Victoria had explained, to the best of her ability (which truthfully didn't seem like much), her thoughts on her father. He had told her that he would try to look into it, and sent her to the infirmary to have her head looked at.

She felt like a loser. Looking in a mirror, she saw her eyes were all red, along with her face. And she had a humongous pounding headache. She fell asleep on a bed, only to have Madam Pomfrey wake her up immediately.

"Don't go to sleep, dear. Where did you hit your head?"

The nurse healed her head, which effectively got rid of the majority of the headache, then sent her to dinner. She didn't want to go to dinner. She missed talking to Snape. He was the only father figure she'd had through a portion of her life, even though it was only during the summers. She wandered down to the dungeons and knocked on his door.

It swung open, revealing the intimidating teacher. "Good evening. And what, may I ask, brings you here?"

She shrugged, gazing at the floor.

"Stop moping." He snapped. "You know I despise moping. Come on in, Vanessa is at dinner. Which is precisely where you should be."

"I don't want to go to dinner. I'm not hungry."

He lead her over to a chair by the fireplace, where she curled up and stared at the dancing flames. She liked fire. It was so hypnotic and warm…

"What is troubling you, Victoria?"

"Issues." She answered vaguely.

"What kinds of issues?" he pressed.

"Issues that I have."

Even though he smiled slightly, he told her to either tell him if she was going to or to stop wasting his time.

"Jarek doesn't notice me."

"Your concerns are over a _boy._ Surely you're better than that."

"I guess not."

He sat in another chair nearby, sighing. "And what do you mean, he doesn't notice you? He's with you all the time. I daresay he'd go into Gryffindor tower if he knew how."

Victoria didn't tell him that Jarek already spent after dinner with her in the common room of Gryffindor tower before he had to go to bed. And that he'd actually stay there all night if McGonagall didn't come in and kick him out.

"I like him as more than a friend. A lot so. But he doesn't seem to realize it at all, which probably means he's not interested like that and doesn't see me as being his girlfriend. Maybe I should move on, but I don't really want to. We fit so well and everything."

"Frankly, Victoria, it really doesn't matter to me. But if you continue in this mope for the rest of the year, your scores are going to suffer greatly. I have never seen a closer pair of students since I was in school. But I couldn't and you can't control where your friend's interests go. I suggest you do try to move on, because there are other boys who would probably be fascinated in you. Now, since you don't want to go to dinner, I suggest you either go on to bed, or, if you wish, you can stay here until dinner is over because I'd rather not deal with Vanessa complaining about you again."

"Thanks for the support."


	9. Peaceful

**I am loving every review! Every time I come look in the morning, I get so happy from the positive feedback! And I've noticed my mood effects my story... But anyway. Thank you to all those hanging onto Victoria's story. I hadn't quite planned it to turn out this way between the girls, but do you write the story or does the story write itself through you? Hope you enjoy!!**

**_And again, I own no one but my own creations._**

**_*~*_**

Luna skipped back over to the table and sat down next to Jarek again. "He wasn't up to anything and he doesn't appreciate you poking into his business but," she smiled. "He said that she hit her head, but it wasn't intentional, but that she should be fine. He also said that she seems sort of depressed." Luna's cheery, dream-like voice drooped for a moment for that statement. "I wonder if the Nargles got to her. I do hope not…"

"I'm sure they didn't, Luna…" Jarek comforted, though he himself felt troubled. Depressed? She'd been fine all week… He thought to the day before when she had sat there in the forest while he slept. He'd pulled the leaf out of her hair and she'd gotten a funny look on her face. He thought about what Hermione had said.

"Well, I'm going to go look for her." Jarek decided out loud, standing up. As he left the hall, he wondered where she would have gone. She surely would have been told to go to dinner, which she obviously had not. Failing that, she would have been told to go to Gryffindor tower. Of course, she wouldn't have wanted to do that, either. Luna said Draco had mentioned she looked depressed… maybe she would have gone to talk to someone. But who?

As soon as he started off in a decided direction, dinner let out. As Draco's blonde head passed him, he realized who she would have gone to. Probably the only possible parent like figure she had available, seeing as her mother was across the ocean. He sprinted off after the Slytherins.

He had the Potions Master's door in sight when he got pinned against the wall. "Why, hello, Jarek."

"Vanessa, what do you want?" He glared at her before returning his gaze to the door he had to get to.

"Shouldn't you be more polite than that?" she whispered, moving a hand up his chest. He looked at her again, incredulous.

"What are you doing?"

"Ruining you." She grinned as she pushed up on her toes and kissed him.

Dread coursed through his veins for that split second as he heard the door open. "Jarek?"

It hurt him, her voice full of such pain. He pushed Vanessa away and looked at his best friend. "Tory, wait-"

She shook her head, fresh tears running down her cheeks, as she turned and ran the other way, disappearing down a corridor.

Vanessa smiled, and Jarek turned to look at her in disgust. "You're a bitch, you know that?"

All she did was laugh and turn away. "Have a good night, Jarek." She called in a singsong voice.

If she was a guy, Jarek would have knocked her out right then. He ran after Victoria instead.

Victoria ran down through the dungeon, knowing that she was hopelessly lost. She had passed up the secret passage that would have taken her near the library, and now she couldn't find it. She turned into a dead end and collapsed on the stone floor, crying.

She heard a quiet footstep, and she didn't look up. "Go away, Harlon."

The footstep grew closer, and someone sat on the floor next to her. "Don't cry like that, my love. What would your mother think?"

She gasped and sat up. There he sat, right next to her. She was afraid to touch him, lest he wasn't real, and that physical contact would dissipate the illusion. "D-d-dad?"

He smiled, his hair rather dirty and in need of brushing. His pale skin was tattooed, which she had never imagined. He could use a shave, too. "Hello, dear Victoria. What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Nothing can hurt me now…" She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him, now afraid to let go. He hugged her back, and she felt so much better. Boys didn't matter anymore. Not all the betrayal, all her concerns, nothing.

She had her father back.

Jarek didn't know where the bloody hell she had gone. And now he must be lost. Sighing, he leaned against a wall and knocked his head against it. He had been trying to follow her noise, but it had stopped.

Perking up, he stood upright again. He heard voices. One was definitely female. He rushed toward them.

Victoria started pouring out questions, but almost as soon as they started, Sirius held a hand to her mouth. She could hear the footsteps, too.

"Be brave." He whispered, kissing her forehead and then changing back into a dog. She stood, drawing her wand. She'd curse him if she had to, if he advanced on her. How dare he-

Jarek came out around the corner and saw her. She felt Sirius draw into the shadows behind her as the boy stepped forward.

"Tory, you have to listen to me, I didn't-"

She raised her wand. "Don't come closer!"

He huffed and flicked his wand at hers, and as it zoomed out of her hand to his he ran forward and grabbed her. "What are you going to do, Miss Black? Curse your best friend?" he asked softly. The hall was lit by a single torch, the flames sending pale light to her face. She glared at him. Her defiance amused him.

"You kissed her! Let go of me!"

"I'm not letting you go, Tory. And, on the contrary, she kissed me. You saw what she wanted you to. I was there looking for you. Not her."

"What?" Her voice was softer now, and her eyes were distant, trying to look back and see if he was lying.

"Would I ever purposely do anything at all to hurt you?"

"No…"

"Then why doubt me now? Come on, it's freezing down here." He wiped off her teary face with the hem of his sleeve. An arm around her waist, he lead her out of the dead end. "How do we find our way back?"

Sirius, though to Jarek, just a random huge black dog, barked and trotted down a hallway.

"Where did that come from?"

"Um, he's a friend. Follow him!"

Jarek grabbed her hand and they ran after her father. Victoria felt lighter, almost giddy. Why in the world had she doubted him? She'd make it up to him, she knew his favorite candy. Her eyes hardened. As for Vanessa…

They finally got to a familiar hallway, and her father stopped, turning to look at her. She nodded, understanding. Letting go of Jarek's hand, she dropped down and hugged the dog. Whispering under her breath, she said, "I love you, dad. But you need a bath." She gave him an extra squeeze, and then stood back up. He sounded like he was laughing a little. She looked at Jarek, who was giving her a funny look, and smiled.

"Come on, we'd best get back upstairs. If Filtch catches us, you know he'll think the worst."

"I hope we don't run into Peeves, he still hasn't repaid us for that closet prank…"

He grabbed her hand again and they made their way back.

She had fallen asleep on his lap. He didn't mind, it was nice sitting their in her common room, stroking her hair. Her face was still a little puffy, but there had been no new tears. She had apologized for not trusting him, and he had given her back her wand. The fireplace cast a better light on her than that torch did, a golden light that made him notice a little red in the shading of her black hair. He smiled, brushing it away from her face with his fingers. She had on plain red earrings, like those birthstone ones you find in convenience stores. He made a note to ask her when her birthday was.

He heard the portrait door open. He sighed inwardly.

"Mr. Harlon, it is time for you to leave." McGonagall's strict voice ordered.

"Can't I just stay for tonight? She's had a miserable day." He pleaded, not taking his eyes off her face.

The teacher walked over, seeing her fast asleep. She stood there, probably warring with herself between rules and compassion. "Just tonight, Jarek. But from tomorrow night on, I want you in your own dormitory by curfew!"

They both knew it wasn't going to happen.


	10. Shrieking Shack

Author's note: Teehee, I got a hold of the book, so the Shrieking Shack will go much better than it probably would have.

Once more, I own none of Rowlings characters, even though having the idea myself would have been beyond awesome.

*~*

Vanessa woke up, stretching out. Her hand hit something, and as she sat up in a flash, her eyes shot open. Jarek smiled, chuckling at her.

"Good morning." He greeted calmly, gazing at her state of disorder. She dashed away like a rabbit. He laughed, then stretched out on the couch. He had gone to sleep, too, but he had put himself back after he woke up so that he would be there for her when she woke. Harry and Ron entered the common room in a rush, and he waved at them.

Five minutes later she came back down, dressed in fresh robes and her hair brushed. He stood as she walked up to him brightly. "Good morning." She sang.

"How did you sleep?" he asked, walking out of the portrait door with her.

"Very peacefully." She looked up at him through her lashes. "Did you sleep at all?"

"Of course I did. Now come on, let's get to breakfast."

Luna was waiting for them. "There seems to be a problem with Hagrid." She noted dreamily. "He looks very dreadful."

"Oh, today is when Buckbeak… Oh, poor Hagrid…" Victoria sighed.

Classes went on almost as usual, though Victoria noticed that Harry and the other two looked squirmy and anxious. She asked Hermione what was up.

"We're going to visit Hagrid today during dinner. Would you like to come?"

"Yeah. He probably needs all the support he can get…" Victoria replied, sympathetic.

"Victoria Black, would you pay attention?"

She sat back up and faced Snape, who was looking down his nose at her disapprovingly. She smiled and his expression seemed to not be so harsh. "Now turn to pages eight and nine and tell me what the effects of the potions listed there make them similar but completely different…Potter."

Harry scowled as he turned to the page.

They met up in Hagrid's cabin after walking through the grounds, all of them barely fitting under Harry's Invisibility Cloak, and met the heartbroken half-giant who scolded them for coming when he had said not to. Hermione was getting the teapot when she screamed and dropped it.

As soon as Ron shouted his rat's name, Victoria had honed in on it and jumped out of her chair, grabbing it. Suddenly she hated this rat, she didn't know why, but squeezing it would be so easy…

Ron took the rodent from her, saying thanks repeatedly. She snapped back to reality and feigned support, yay he has his blasted rat back. They talked about the damned thing and how he could've got there and how Crookshanks must have frightened the poor thing, he was so old…

So they had tea and then came the knock on the door. Hagrid sent them out the backdoor, where they fled out into the pumpkin patch to hide.

"Should we go back to the castle?" Victoria whispered as they all watched a collection of people enter the house. Dumbledore was one of them, and though the window she saw the headmaster pat Hagrid's arm in an effort to comfort him. Lucius was there, and she noted where much of Draco's looks come from. There was a large (though not in comparison to Hagrid) man in the group, fondling an axe. She thought beheading a very archaic method of execution.

"We can't, we'd be seen." Harry whispered back.

Jarek seemed bouncy. Victoria gave him a look.

"What? Despite the circumstance, hiding from the Ministry is jolly good fun."

She grinned. "You are such a dork."

"You love it."

Blushing, she said nothing to that.

"Gah!" Ron exclaimed. Hermione scolded him. "He bit me. Scabbers bit me. Hey!"

The rat escaped from him, and Ron took off after it. Harry cursed, and the rest of them had to go after him. Not far away was the Whomping Willow. Ron managed to get his rat again, and then Victoria saw him. She didn't understand what he was up to, though, as he grabbed the boy's leg and pulled him down under the tree.

Harry and Hermione started to panic. Jarek circled the tree.

"There's and entrance to under the tree."

"Really? And here I thought the tree ate them." Vicotria cracked. Jarek stuck his tongue out at her.

"How do we get through?" Hermione asked, trying to dart through the snapping branches, but to no avail.

"I don't know!" Harry answered. They both where getting cut by the tree.

An orange dart zoomed under the reach of the branches, pushing its paws on a knot in the trunk. The branches froze. Jarek immediately dove inside, and Victoria rushed after him.

"Crookshanks…How did he know?"

"He's in on it with that dog! I've seen them together."

Victoria heard Harry and Hermione follow her. The tunnel crept under the ground, and then they hit an actual room. Standing straight, she stood next to Jarek, who was looking into a room through a crack in the door. They all heard Ron whimpering.

"I think this is the Shrieking Shack." Hermione whispered. Harry nodded.

"That's what I thought."

"Harry, he's hurt!"

"When is he going to grow some?" Jarek asked.

Harry slugged him. "Come on." They entered the room, seeing only Ron with a broken leg on a bed and some very wrecked furniture. His face was as red as his hair from the pain.

"Ron. Are you alright?"

"Where's the dog?" Jarek asked, looking around.

"It's no dog…" Ron muttered through his pain. "He's the dog… He's an Animagus!"

The lot of them heard the door shut behind them. Victoria whirled and saw him again. She wanted to ask what he was up to, but..

In this light, her father looked even worse for the wear. His face was sunken, starved looking, and he had a wildly triumphant gleam in his eye.

"Expelliarmus!" he growled, and all wands, including hers, flung themselves to the father. What was going on? Was she wrong? Was he truly guilty, and she had let her love get in the way? Would he hurt her? Her friends? She saw his eyes flicker to hers for a moment, and she thought, _Maybe he's just making sure they don't think I helped. It would be awfully weird if he didn't take my wand as well as the others._

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he told Harry. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful ... it will make everything much easier. ..."

Harry moved as if to attack her father, even being wandless, but Hermione stopped him.

"No, Harry!"

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" Ron cried out, though the effort of joining his friends made the blood drain from his face, and he fell against the bed.

Victoria saw compassion in her father's eyes as he looked over at Ron.

"Lie down," he told Ron quietly. Victoria knew he wasn't going to hurt anybody. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly. "You'll have to kill all three of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Sirius. His grin widened, the mad triumph back in his eyes.

"Why's that?" spat Harry furiously. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew. ... What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?" Victoria thought he was pushing his luck a little much. Taunting a man he believed to be a murderer was a little foolhardy… Apparently Hermione agreed.

"Harry!" the bushy-haired girl whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry yelled, his fury echoing through the room. He lunged at Sirius, trying to hit as much of the man as he could. Sparks shot out of the wands Sirius was holding. Ron and Hermione were yelling, and Jarek…

Jarek was staring at the rat, which was going crazy, Ron barely being able to hold onto it.

Victoria focused back on the fight, and saw her father catch Harry's throat.

"No," he hissed. "I've waited too long ..." Harry choked. Vanessa saw Hermione move to kick her father, but she pushed the girl aside and pulled her father off of Harry.

He smelled horribly of dog…

He dropped the wands as he was pulled back onto Victoria, and Harry dove for his. The cat came from nowhere, leaping off the bed. (Author's Note: I realize that is an oxymoron, but it's also a figure of speech.)

Harry cried out as the cat attacked him, and he tried to shake him off. The cat dove for Harry's dropped wand, but Harry snarled, "NO YOU DON'T!" and kicked Crookshanks out of the way, diving for his wand. "Get out of the way!" he called to Hermione and Ron, pointing the wand at Sirius' heart. Jarek pulled Victoria out of the way, stopping her from stopping Harry.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" Her father whispered. She thought he looked scared.

"You killed my parents," Harry accused again.

"I don't deny it," Sirius admitted, shrugging, his eyes pleading. "But if you knew the whole story."

"The whole story?" mimicked Harry, snarling again. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me," pleaded Sirius. "You'll regret it if you don't. ... You don't understand. ..."

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry, his voice unsteady. "You never heard her, did you? My mum ... trying to stop Voldemort killing me ... and you did that ... you did it. ..."

The cat jumped onto her father's chest, remining her quite randomly of Pocahontas. She really should stop watching muggle movies…

"Get off," Sirius muttered, but Crookshanks was a cat, and cats had the habit of not listening when they didn't want to. Harry raised the wand, as if preparing himself to act. But they continued to wait. Victoria pulled toward him, but Jarek continued to hold her back.

"Let me go." She muttered to him

"No."

They all heard the footsteps. Hoping Jarek was distracted, she tried to pull away again. Nope, not happening. He adjusted his hold on her to around her waist, holding her tightly against him.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione yelled. "WE'RE UP HERE--SIRIUS BLACK--QUICK!"


	11. Strange Magic

I am so sorry for the huge delay. And now I don't have a copy of the book so I have to wing it from where I left off. I hope it's still as good. And I was thinking of continuing on with thses characters for the fourth year, but would like opinions. Again, I apologize, and now we reenter the troubled lives of Victoria and Vanessa.

Vanessa, Victoria and Jarek (The last to an extent) are my characters, as for the rest, they belong to Rowling. Cheers!

Victoria had a very bad feeling about all this. And it would be nice if Jarek would let go, because the odd angle she was in was kind of making her back sore. But all she could do is stand here and watch. And was it just her or was his attention still on the rat?

"Jarek?" she whipered to him. His head turned back toward her slightly, and she could feel the warmth from his cheek on hers. Distracted, her mind went a little fuzzy.

"What?" he whispered back.

"Oh, um.. that rat.."

"So you can tell, too? What am I thinking, of course you can. It's an Animagus, as well. But who could it be?"

"It's Peter..."

"What? I thought he was dead."

"That's the point..."

Tory remembered back when she had been in the Snape's kitchen the couple times when Nessa's father was in one of his sour moods, relieving bad school memories about the Potter gang, describing that one boy that really didn't fit. He wasn't smart or skilled or popular, he was just there. Because he felt protected. The type of person who would easily turn on his friends if someone bigger and badder came along and made an offer he just couldn't refuse...

The tidbit of conversation and then her epiphany happened in a little more than a couple seconds, and suddenly she had broken away from Jarek, drawing all attention to her, throwing her hand out toward the door, sealing it closed with a flash of light. Lupin (for who else could it have been?) hit the outside of it, unable to come in. She knew, somehow, that Snape would be soon to follow, and that he would get hurt and she could not have that.

"What are you doing?" Harry demanded, and her father even looked up at her, confused.

"Ron, let me see your rat."

"Why?"

Tory looked at him, her eyes emploring. "Please? This is all such a disaster and the true cause of it all is wiggling with fear in your hands."

"You just don't want to realize your father is the problem." Harry snarled, and she turned her cool gaze upon him.

"What would you do in my position? Allow your father to be framed for a crime he did not commit when you had the power to put it all right again? Or would you do the same as I?"

That shut him up.

She turned back to Ron, who was looking down at his rat. "It'll all be for the better, dear. And I'll make it up to you somehow, get you a better pet. One whose history isn't disloyalty." She said the last word in a sort of hiss, her expression hardening as she looked at the rat, who froze as if paralyzed by a snake. She held out her hand and Ron handed her the rat who gave the barest whisper of a squeak as he was set in her grasp.

She walked two strides over to the table, a long gash down the top of it, and set the rat on it who, besides trembling, did not move. Bundling her hair up in a couple hair ties to keep it back, she closed her eyes and focused her mind on Peter. Though the Shrieking Shack was closed off to the elements, a twisting wind began to stir, Tory and the rat in its focus. Hermione brought her hands up over her hair to keep it still and Crookshanks batted at a random loose pillow feather.

All eyes were focused on the rodent, who had begun to change. Sirius stood up, but no one noticed. Peter the rat grew in size and then suddenly was in his human form, sitting on the table, still too frightened to move. His eyes kept flickering around the room, though mainly focused on his captor.

The only sound in the room after the wind died down was Harry exhaling in amazement. Tory sensed that Lupin was still outside, and that Snape would be arriving very soon. Sending a thought to the Willow, she made sure it would not freeze up, even when prodded. Temporary, but still a detterent.

"Well, well. Isn't this dramatic?" Jarek commented.

Tory was about to remark in turn, but then the worst happened. The air grew cold, and her focus was lost. All she could mutter was "How?" before she blacked out.

A neighborhood. A very snowy one, too. Everything was too bright, and why was she here? She looked up and saw, between two very normal looking houses, a very not-so-normal, dark house. Something compelled her to go in, so she did. It was even darker inside. No one was here except a very old house elf, who was sitting on the floor, staring into the dark.

"Where am I?" she asked him kindly. He didn't look up, just started muttering into the dark.

"All alone with my mistress, those nasty Mudbloods and blood traitors all gone, now, and no one will bother Kreacher anymore, no.. All alone in the noble house of Black.."

When Victoria opened her eyes into darkness, she freaked out. She lept up and almost fell to the floor, looking wildly around as tears stung her eyes. Quickly she realized where she was and who was in the bed next to hers in the hospital wing.

"Jarek!" she whipsered, shaking him. With her touch, the potion he was given to drink lost its effect and he woke, sitting up and grabbing her up in a hug, pulling her down to sit with him.

"Tory!" He held her close, one hand stroking her hair, his face buried the curve of her shoulder and neck. She hugged him back, biting her lip to avoid crying. He pulled back some and kissed her, her eyes shooting wide open. "Don't ever do that again, do you understand me?"

"What happened?" she asked when she had found her voice again, her face warm, the feeling of his lips on hers still there even though the kiss was brief.

"Whatever the bloody hell you did put you out. The room got so cold I thought a Dementor had gotten in somehow, but no, it was your weird freaky magic collapsing back in on you and you were gone, totally just dropped to the ground. I thought you had died. But anyhow, Lupin got in because the door popped open and after that all kinds of crazyness happened and the whole time you were out. You barely even had a heartbeat. Do you know how scared I was?"

"Is everyone ok?"

"Well, Lupin is a werewolf, Snape got knocked out pretty bad, Ron's leg is broken, Sirius almost lost his soul and I...tripped over a stick..."

"I knew the Lupin thing. I imagine Snape is ok, and we knew Ron's leg was broken. I take it Snape brought the Dementors? How did Dad escape?"

"Harry saved us all, somehow. Well, I saved you. But there were loads of Dementors, it was crazy."

"But you were ok?"

"Hey, nothing but happy thoughts up here." he said brightly, grinning and pointing at his head. "You, though.. When you started making noise I was relieved, but then.. I don't know what you saw."

"I don't remember seeing a lot.. I was in this house, I think it's my family's old house, but no one but a house elf was there. Other than that.. I don't remember seeing anything else."

"Well, good, because what you saw or felt or whatever must have sucked."

Tory was quiet. "So where is my dad, now?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him." Jarek muttered vaguely, his expression that of 'I know something you don't know and it's really cool' as his gaze wandered around the room.

"Jarek."

"Nope, not telling. You'll find out."

"Jarek.."

He set his gaze back on her and his face got very serious and intense. "Tory."

Needless to say, Tory went blank again.

The Head Nurse had shuffled her way in the room, giving Tory and Jarek the barest amount of warning, and when she entered and turned on the lantern, Tory was 'passed out' in her cot and Jarek was 'asleep' in his. She bustled around and straightened the blankets then sat down by the lantern to read.


	12. An Apology

I know it has been quite a long time since any of you have seen an update for this story and I am sad to say that this is not a story update. This is an apology and explanation for those of you who are still around.

The inspiration for the story, my best friend, hasn't been in my life for some time, now. I hope he is doing well with himself, I wish him no ill feelings. I miss him, but I was not worth his goodbye.

I had a lot of hope for this story and had a lot of fun plans for it but I no longer have the drive or will to continue it. The spark is gone and I am very sad for that. I wish I could have finished it, for all of you at least, and I love that you enjoyed what is here. I am going to make a new Fan Fiction account and won't touch this one again. The memories that are here still sting and I have the future to look forward to.

If you wish to find me, I am here: u/4322926/

I will have plenty of new writings that I hope you enjoy. Much love to you all and I hope you have a great day.


End file.
